Sole for boots and shoes.



W. B. WIEGAND & T. H'. RIEDER.

SOLE FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLICAHON HLEU NOV. 1. 1915.

Patented Dec. 11, 1917.

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WILLIAM B. 'WIEGAND AND TALMON HENRY RIEDER, 0F MONTREAL, QUEBEC,CANADA,

ASSIGNORS TO THE GOODYEARS METALLIC RUBBER SHOE COMPANY, A CORPORA- TIONOF CONNECTICUT.

SOLE FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 11, 191 '7.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM B. WIE- GAND and TALMON H. Brenna, bothsubjects of the King of Great Britain, residing at Montreal, Province ofQuebec, Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Soles for Boots and- Shoes, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to boots and shoes and more particularly torubber soles for this class of articles.

An object of the invention is to provide a sole which will combinelightness of weight and flexibility with maximum cushion for the bottomof the foot of the wearer. A further object is to provide a sole whichwill insulate the foot, that is, will prevent heat or cold beingconducted through the sole to the foot.

To attain these results we provide a sole embodying as a whole, orincluding as any component part, a layer of sponge rubber which forms acomfortable cushion and the air cells in which prevent heat or coldconduction to the wearers foot.

- The invention can be readily understood from the following descriptiontaken in connection' with the accompanying drawing; in which Figure 1 isa side elevation of a shoe embodying our improvements; m

Fig. 2' is a cross-sectional view on the line 2 -2, Fig. 1.

We willdescribe one embodiment of the invention in connection with atennis or outing shoe'although the sole may be equally well applied toother types of shoes and to boots. In the drawing 10 designates theupper, 11 the insole, and 12 the filler of a tennis shoe, these parts.being of the usual and well known construction.

In the present embodiment of the invention we provide a sole comprisinga tread 13 formed of rubber and a backin I14 therefor formed of spongerubber. he tread is formed of rubber compound having a maximumflexibility and wear resisting qualities and is relatively thin so thatit will be light in weight as well asstrong and flexible. The spongerubber backing is relatively thick and consequently forms a comfortablecushion for the foot of the wearer. The air cells of the sponge rubberform insulators which upon the upper in the usual manner.

prevent heat and cold conduction through the backing to the wearers footfrom decks, pavements, etc.

To produce a water tight joint between the sole and the upper as well asto confine and protect the edges of the backing from abrasive wear, thetread is turned upwardly at the sides as shown at 15, to extend abovethe backing, and is then continued upwardly to form a foxing 16 whichextends upwardly The lateral portions extending upwardly from the treadform a single vulcanized bond along the edges of the backing thusproviding a strong wear-resisting construction.

In, constructing the article the raw tread and backing may befirst'assembled, a layer of rubber treated fabric 17 being insertedbetween the bottom face of the backing and the top face of the tread, topromote better union of the parts during vulcanization. The assembledtread and backing may then be applied to the previously assembled upper,insole, and filler. A layer of'rubber treated fabric 18 is insertedbetween the top face ofthe backing and the inturned edges of the upperand the filler to promote firm union between the parts duringvulcanization. The foxing strip is as usual cemented or otherwisesecured to the upper. To complete the article it is put in a vulcan'izerand vulcanized, the various rubber parts fiowing together and becomingintegral and unitary during vulcanization.

We do not restrict ourselves to the above described sequence ofoperations in assembling the various parts of the article as we mayresort to any desired sequence in assembling the component parts of thearticle without sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Furthermore we may resort to various modifications in the constructionof the sole, even dispensin with the rubber tread if desired, orsubstituting therefor a leather or other tread. We may furthermoredispense with either or both of the. rubber treated fabric layers 1718if desired since these are not essential.

We may also dispense with the upturned edges of the outsole if desiredand substitute independent confining means at the edges of thesponge'rubber cushion, it being simply preferable that some means beprovided, when the cushion is of great thickness, -to confine the sameagainst spreading outwardly under load, and to prevent injury to thesame.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention couldbe-made Without departing from the spirit thereof, it is to beunderstood thatwe do not intend to limit outselves to the specific formof the invention as set forth except as indicated in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. A boot or shoe embodying an upper, a rubber tread having lateralportions of rubber forming part of the tread extending upwardly upon andsecured to the upper, and a sponge rubber cushion between the tread andupper held in place and having its edges protected by said lateralportions, said lateral portion forming a single vulcanized bond alongthe edges of said cushion and the sides of said upper.

2. A rubber sole embodying a rubber tread having lateral portions ofrubber forming part of the tread extending upwardly and terminating in afoxing strip, and a sponge rubber backing held in place and having itsedges protected by said lateral portions, said lateral portions forminga single vulcanized bond along the edges of said backing.

Signed at Montreal, Canada, this 22 day of October, 1915.

\VILLIAM B. WIEGAND. TALMON HENRY RIEDER.

